1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for processing documents or the like, for outputting characters using dot patterns (it is to be understood that "character" as used throughout this specification and the appended claims, is not limited to alphanumeric or other writing characters in any narrow sense, but may include any predetermined symbol, whether punctuation marks or other).
2. Description of the Related Art
Typical conventional document processing apparatuses of this kind are word processors, electronic typewriters and the like.
Recently, a dot-matrix-type printing technique used, for example, in thermal printers and ink-jet printers, has made remarkable progress. The quality of characters printed by these printers has become equal to that of printing type.
One of the advantages of the dot-matrix printer is that there are a variety of kinds of print characters. It is possible to print in the kind of character instructed by the operator, for example, Ming-dynasty and Gothic types, and characters magnified in the lateral or vertical direction of these types and the like.
Relative to magnified characters, there has been known a so-called outline font having a data structure in which magnified sizes of character dot patterns can be freely changed. Although this type of font enables large magnified characters to be obtained, it has the disadvantage that it takes time for the expansion of dot patterns. Accordingly, word processors and typewriters have frequently used characters doubled in the lateral direction or characters doubled twice in that direction (so-called 4-multiple characters), in which dot strings in a character dot pattern of a standard character (a full-sized character) are multiplied by an integer in the lateral or vertical direction. These magnified characters have the advantage that magnification of dot patterns is easy, and that the quality of the characters is not lost where the the magnification is relatively small.
However, if the dot pattern of a standard character (termed hereinafter a "full-sized character") is magnified in the lateral direction, there is the disadvantage that right and left blank portions within the dot pattern, that is, pattern portions providing so-called intercharacter blanks, are also magnified in the lateral direction, and hence printed character strings become spaced farther apart.